STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The pranksters at Improv Everywhere have struck on Staten Island -- and left hundreds of bewildered shoppers in their wake.

About 100 members of the group simultaneously set off the panic button on their car alarms in the parking lot of the Lowe's home improvement center in Mariners Harbor, creating a bizarre scene where no one actually panicked, and just about everyone was clueless.

It was a joke, that's all.

"Shoppers and employees at the Lowe's and Kohl's stores were surprised by this unauthorized and mercifully brief project," the group's leader, Charlie Todd, wrote today on Improv Everywhere's website.

A look at the three-minute YouTube video shows that "surprised" is an understatement. Shoppers walking through the lot on a tranquil, sunny day are stunned at the harsh honking and beeping that erupted from dozens of cars at once. Some shoppers captured on the video stare ahead with a combination of amazement and disbelief. Others shake their heads and laugh.

"Obviously car horns are not a pleasant thing, but we hoped that the sheer volume and absurdity of it all would make it a unique experience for the people who witnessed it," Todd said on the Improv Everywhere blog. "Some enjoyed it more than others, and there were quite a few laughs." The video was first posted today; the prank took place May 12.

View full sizePhoto courtesy of Brian FountainBewildered shoppers outside Lowe's home improvement center in Mariners Harbor can only watch in disbelief as dozens of car alarms simultaneously go off around them.

It's something Todd has wanted to do for years. The group, which counts many Staten Islanders as members, had committed to doing a prank in each of the five boroughs. This time, it was Staten Island's turn. Todd thought the borough was ideal for the "Car Alarm Symphony" because of its abundance of shopping centers with large parking lots.

An invitation was extended to Improv Everywhere's members. About 200 RSVP'd and roughly half that number showed up and parked their cars in the lot, following a plan carefully mapped out by prank organizers. The members then gathered behind a wall on the other side of the lot. "Participants were then conducted like an orchestra as they pressed their horn or "panic" buttons on their keyless entry remotes," according to Todd.

Todd acted as symphony conductor behind the wall, leading members as they waved their vehicle remotes in the air.

Members actually performed the prank several times -- briefly in each instance -- including one final gag. "We synchronized our watches and set off the alarms at the same second as we walking to our cars," Todd explained on the Improv Everywhere blog. "As a final touch, we had everyone pop their trunk."